Fishing

The time is once again here to welcome the annual Jolly Mon King Classic King Mackerel tournament to the area. The Jolly Mon will be hosted this weekend, June 18-20, from the Ocean Isle Fishing Center at Ocean Isle Beach.

As has become tradition, the Jolly Mon offers fishermen from all over the southeast an opportunity to win cash and prizes, including the first-place prize typically more than $25,000.

Bald Head Island’s 19th annual Fishing Rodeo, June 3-5 on Bald Head Island, attracted 21 boats and crews from across North Carolina to compete for the top prize. Competitors fished for wahoo, tuna and dolphin.

Capt. Barrett McMullan and crew from Ocean Isle Beach, fishing aboard the OIFC, reeled in the first-place prize of $7,560. The winning team caught a combined weight of 246.50 pounds.

Big chopper bluefish continue to be a big story, as many of these feisty, fierce gamefish up to 10 pounds are being landed on Brunswick County piers or from the surf of our barrier islands. Some are caught by king mackerel fishermen using live bait and others are falling to cut bait or pluggers using Gotcha-style plugs. Anything alive or shiny in the water will get the attention of bluefish now.

The 27th annual Flounder Tournament is June 11-12. Tournament proceeds are for the benefit of the Sudan Daredevils of the South Brunswick Islands Shrine Club.

Once again, the tournament is based at the Shallotte Point Volunteer Fire Dept. The entry fee is $75 per boat and the deadline to enter is 10 a.m. June 11. For an additional $25, anglers can compete to catch two tagged flounder, with each catch worth $5,000.

The captains’ meeting will be 6-10 pm. June 10 at the Shallotte Point VFD. Ninety-four boats fished in the tourney last year.

Boating season is upon us now, and as a local on water assistance provider for the entire Brunswick County coastline, here are safety tips for boaters.

•Wear a life jacket. In 2008, the most recent year for which U.S. Coast Guard statistics are available, more than two-thirds of all fatal boating accident victims drowned, and of those, 90 percent were not wearing a life jacket.

Last week’s offshore low pressure storm did not offer much opportunity for fishermen to get offshore, but by the weekend, the winds had subsided and the fish and fishermen were ready.

Nearshore, Yaupon Reef off of Yaupon Beach was a hot spot for king mackerel fishing action. The area typically seas good action from kings in the early summer, and the abundance of baitfish in the area has helped to make this year no exception.

Inshore fishing has remained strong, although the fish are moving around a lot now with the water temperatures rising toward summer, so some spots will be vacant on one tide and provide good fishing on the next.

The biggest news is strong inshore redfish and flounder fishing along with good catches of Spanish mackerel and occasional king mackerel for folks plugging the piers.